The Bank of Khyber (BoK) is going to establish a brokerage house, an exchange company, and housing subsidiary during the current calendar year. The objective behind it is to construct residential townships, and handed them over to people according to the principles of the Islamic banking. This was stated by BoK Acting Managing Director Qazi Munir-ul-Haq, while talking to Business Recorder on Saturday. He said the financial position of the Bank of Khyber is registering improvement with each passing day, saying it had earned Rs 199 million gross profit during first quarter of the current calendar year.
He said the deposits of the bank have climbed to Rs 1.231 billion and the target for 2005 is Rs 2.00 billion.
Qazi Munir-ul-Haq, who had assumed the responsibility to head BoK after resignation of BoK managing director Dr Munir Ahmad, said that they are going to open new avenues of business for the bank and for this purpose in first instance they are going to increase the agriculture lending to benefit 75 percent population of the province, who are depending directly or indirectly on agriculture.
"In collaboration with the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI), the bank is going to start a new project for financing industrial sector of the province", said Qazi, and hinted at the strengthening of the role of the bank in the sector.
Similarly, he said that the bank is also going to increase its micro-financing aimed at supporting poor and small shop-keepers so that its fruits could reach grossroots level.
He said that the lending portfolio of the bank is Rs 10 billion and most of it has distributed in our own province, adding that the total non-performing loans are Rs 2.8 billion of which the bank had made a record recovery of Rs 530 million during last calendar yearand the amount was also including cash recovery, rescheduling and restructuring of loans.
For this purpose, he said the bank appointed an experienced commercial banker from Mashriq Bank, Dubai.
In the sector of consumer financing, he said the bank had invested Rs 447 million, adding that the risk of default is nominal in this sector.
He, however, said that range is very wide, as the products, the bank is financing, are housing, car and motorcycles. In Islamic modes, he said, the bank is making investment in Modarabaha and Ijara.
For government employees, he said the bank has a housing scheme of giving a loan equal to 50 salaries at a very less mark-up rate of 7.4 percent, adding: "The amount is being recovered in a period of 12 years, which is not less than any big initiative for the government employees."
In reply to a question, Qazi Munir-ul-Haq said the reforms process initiated in the bank during last two years would continue, saying that halting them would not be in the interest of the institution.
He said the bank is also promoting women entrepreneurship and for this purpose, it is working with a number of non-governmental organisations, adding the bank is also financing Charsadda shoe-makers as well as fish sellers and boat owners of Sardaryab, district Charsadda.
He said the bank has provided loans to the people relating to the promotion of tourism in the hill resort of Kalam, Swat.
For the promotion of agricultural sector, he said the BoK in collaboration with the Levers Brothers is working on tea plantation in district Mansehra. "The initiative is to play important role in the national economy," he added.
Regarding the offering of the shares of BoK through stock market, he said that they had already appointed a financial advisor and also busy in surveying the share market of the country. He, however, said that they are looking for best offers in this connection.
Qazi said the break up value of one share has been fixed at Rs 17 per share, and was confident that the share prices would be confirmed in next two weeks.
"The capital market is passing through crisis due to which the Bank is also taking steps with due care and along with conducting survey it is also looking for good offers", he said, and added that in this regard, the bank would give preference to only Islamic institutions.
He said that in near future the bank would be converted into a complete Islamic bank. For this purpose, he particularly pointed towards the passage of a bill from the NWFP Assembly.
When asked about the expansion of the network of the branches of the BoK, Qazi Munir-ul-Haq said they had already applied to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) seeking permission for opening of 12 more branches in different parts of the country.
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